ROOT, Erastus Coleman
Erastus Coleman ROOT, deceased, for sixty
years resided on the Marshall
county line, but his house was just across the line in Peoria county, while his farm extended on
either side. He was a man as well known in
Marshall
as in Peoria
county. He was born in Roxbury, Delaware county, New York,
July 26, 1805, and was the son of Jeriel and Sarah (COLEMAN)
ROOT, both of whom were natives of Coventry,
Connecticut, but who in an early day removed to
Dutchess county, New York, and
later of Delaware
county in the same state. Here the family lived in proximity to
Jason GOULD, of Gould’s Hollow, relatives of the celebrated Jay
GOULD of latter day fame. In 1817, he concluded they could
better their fortunes by going farther west, and we find them en
route to Ohio, with two covered wagons, one drawn by horses and
the other by oxen. In due time they reached
Richmond, Ross county,
Ohio, where they made their home for
thirteen years. Our subject was twelve years of age when the
family moved to Ohio,
and it may well be surmised that his educational advantages were
not of the best, but he made the most of his opportunities, and
while his school life was of short duration, by reading and
reflection he became a well-informed man.
In 1830 the family once more set its face
westward, this time for the prairies of Illinois, of which much had been heard, and
where land was cheap and very productive. The ROOTs were
accompanied by Aaron REED, Joel HICKS, Samuel REED, Thomas MINER
and George LEIGH. Reaching Peoria county, they made their first camp on the east side
of the Illinois river at
Peoria. The river was very low at the
time and quite a number of Indians forded it and visited the new
settlers. The company separated at this point, Jeriel ROOT and
his family locating on La Salle
prairie in Hallock township, on the northeast quarter of section
24, township 11, north of range 8 east. The mother died here
soon afterward, and the father subsequently married Sarah MARKS.
He died some years later at the residence of our subject at the
age of seventy-seven years. His second wife also died there.
The settlement in Illinois, as stated, was
in 1830. The winter following was one never to be forgotten by
those old enough to realize or remember anything. It has always
since been spoken of as “the winter of the deep snow,” and many
stories are told of the hardships and sufferings of those
residing in Illinois.
Snow began to fall early in December and fell to a depth of
three feet on the level and never passed away until the
following spring. Wild game of all kinds perished with hunger
and cold. With the aid of snow shoes men would walk on top of
the curst, and many nimble footed deer were knocked in the head
with axes in the hands of the settlers.
The subject of this sketch had reached his
twenty-fifth year when the family settled in Illinois. At that time he was a bachelor, but
soon after he became a benedict, being united in marriage with
Miss Barbara A. REED, December 16, 1830. She was the daughter of
Samuel REED, a native of Middletown, Delaware
county, New York,
born September 15, 1811, and a sister of Simon REED, one of the
emigrants who came with the party. Erastus C. ROOT was third in
a family of ten children, of whom but two are now living –
Alfred, of Chenoa,
Illinois, and his twin sister, Alma, now the
wife of Timothy ATWOOD, of
Fremont,
Nebraska.
Soon after their marriage, Mr. and Mrs.
ROOT commenced their domestic life on a farm near that of her
brother, Simon REED. There they lived until September, 1831,
when Mr. ROOT built a log cabin on his father’s farm, to which
they removed. One year later the cabin was taken down and
rebuilt at a point on the river bank, the present site of the village of Chillicothe. In speaking of their
residence at this point, Mr. ROOT said: “For nine months, my
wife, myself and little son, constituted the entire population
of Chillicothe. Not a house but one between Rome and the Hammett
place.” In 1832 there occurred the Black Hawk war, and a
stockade was built at Simon Reed’s, but Mr. TOOT sent his wife
to Mackinaw for safety. In 1832 he entered the land upon which
he resided. At that time there was a burr oak near by which had
the bodies of three Indian children suspended in the branches,
and beneath were found beads, brooches and bones fallen from
other bodies that had been disposed of in a similar manner. In
1833 he fenced and broke twenty aces of land. In that year,
Samuel T. McKEAN, who was the second settler at Chillicothe, built a cabin
on section 28, and laid out two blocks of the town. In 1835 Mr.
ROOT sold his farm for one thousand dollars to Mr. BIRD, who
later sold it to Temple & Jamison, who laid it out in town lots.
After disposing of the Chillicothe tract, Mr.
ROOT, with the proceeds of the sale, purchased the tract on
which he spent the remainder of his life. This land is seven
miles northwest of Chillicothe
on the line between
Peoria
and Marshall counties, and lies within both counties. His first
house was a log cabin, thirteen feet square, where he lived two
years, when he erected a cabin eighteen feet square, one and a
half stories in height. This was the home of the family until
1851, when the present residence was erected. On this place the
family of nine children were reared, and all now reside within a
few miles of the old homestead, and all well settled in life.
The children living are J. Perry, who married Nancy BOOTH; James
L., who married Harriet MONTGOMERY; Cyrus, who married Mary
STOWELL; William, who married Mary Ann CALDWELL; Alonzo, who
married Lillian ELLSWORTH; Charles, who married Ella CLEMMER;
Erastus, single; Lovina, who married Loren WILSON, and Eliza,
who married Newell NURS.
Mr. ROOT departed this life January 22,
1896. For about eight years he had been totally blind, but he
bore up cheerfully under the affliction and never lost his
interest in the current news of the day, which he would have
read to him by some member of the family. Even upon his death
bed he inquired the news, especially the actions of congress,
desiring to know what action was being taken by that body. In
religious belief he was a Universalist, having strong faith in
the love and compassion of the Heavenly Father for the children
of men. At the request of the family, his funeral sermon was
preached by Rev. Thomas MARTIN, of the Presbyterian church, who
was an old neighbor and knew well the life and character of the
deceased. His sons acted as pall bearers, and the worn out body
was laid to rest in Blue Ridge cemetery, the oldest burying
ground in Peoria county. Mrs. ROOT
preceded her husband to her heavenly home, having died October
6, 1881. She was a woman of strong character and sterling worth,
greatly esteemed by all.
Politically, Mr. ROOT was a stanch and
uncompromising republican and always liked to discuss political
and religious subjects. A strong temperance man, he was for some
years actively engaged in temperance work as a member of the
order of Sons of Temperance, and represented that body in its
grad lodge on one or more occasions. A member of the Old
Settlers’ association, he loved to dwell on past events, and had
a very retentive memory of the scenes of pioneer life in
Ohio
and Illinois.
The first to locate in the northern part of Peoria county, he was the last to pass away. A
man of peace, he never had a law suit in his life, and would
rather be wronged than to wrong another. Successful in life, all
that he had was obtained largely through his own efforts,
assisted, of course, by his good wife, and in later years by his
children. He was always abreast of the times in matters of
public improvement and in labor saving appliances, and was the
first man in his section to use the modern reaper. Physically he
was a fine specimen of man, standing five feet, eleven inches in
height. He was a man of good judgment and solid worth, and well
deserves to be remembered by coming generations.
Extracted May 2011 by Norma Hass from
The Biographical Record of Bureau, Marshall and Putnam Counties, Illinois, 1896.
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